Counter-terrorism leader says there is often no ideology behind ‘grotesque fascinations’ with extreme content

More young people are viewing a “pick and mix of horror” on the web that pushes them towards violence, a counter-terrorism leader has said.

Deputy assistant commissioner Vicki Evans of the Metropolitan police, the senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism, said the nature of radicalisation had changed and warned of a “rapidly increasing fascination with extreme content that we’re seeing throughout our casework”.